“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:7).

How is your heart? Is your heart aligned with your words? Do you believe the truth, or do you just know it?

“It is what comes out of a person that defiles them” (Mark 7:15).

Who you truly are and what you truly believe comes from your heart. How is your heart?

What are you allowing yourself to consume and be influenced by? What words are you listening to and speaking aloud? What are you spending your time viewing and digesting?

If from our hearts come our true selves, what are we allowing to get to our hearts?

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” How are you guarding your heart?

What you consume in your daily life impacts your beliefs, values, thoughts, and mood. The content, the music, the news, and all the other things trying to steal your attention can change and influence who you are and what you believe to be true about yourself and the world.

I’m not saying a little bit of social media is terrible. I’m not saying listening to Taylor Swift is terrible. I’m not saying watching the news is terrible. But are these the things we are allowing to influence who we are and how we see the world?

What if instead of jumping straight to the news in the morning, you started your day in God’s word? Then later when you do check the news (because knowing what is going on in the world is important), you can look at it with compassion and hope in the victory we have in Jesus.

What if instead of scrolling on social media to tell you if you are or are not enough, you went to your creator to find your true worth and identity?

What you consume in your daily life impacts your heart. The good news is you get to choose what you consume. What if you started with God?

Reflection:

  • What is the first thing you consume in a day?
  • What things steal your attention from God?
  • How can you start to guard your heart from the distractions of this world?
  • What does it look like for you to be in the world, but not of the world?